Can You Hear Me When I Talk to You?
by LuckyLadybug
Summary: Marik stands overlooking the ocean, recalling a recent tragedy in his life. Short angsty fluff piece. Kind reviews are welcome!


**Yu-Gi-Oh!**

**Can You Hear Me When I Talk to You?**

**By LuckyLadybug**

**Notes: The characters aren't mine and the story is. This is just a random idea I came up with this morning and had to compose. Enjoy! I apologize for removal of the song, but the site's newly stated policy means that I have to.  
**

* * *

I stand on the cliff's edge, looking down into the deadly waves that lap on the shores below. The same deadly waves that took you both away from me. They crash against the sharp rocks and the bottom of the precipice I am on, laughing and mocking my pain. The ocean cares nothing for human life.

And yet . . . I have always loved the water. That was why I had bought my yacht ages before. The gentle rocking of the sea had calmed my nerves in the past. But it is my ally, my comfort no more.

"You killed them," I murmur, clenching my fists. "You and those criminals! You killed them!" A stray tear slips down my cheek. Even as I say this, I feel that I myself am also to blame.

The memories swirl through my mind, refusing to leave me be. It's all so clear, so vivid . . . the tempest . . . the attack . . . the screams . . .

"No! No!" I cry, falling to my knees. "Ishizu! Rishid!"

I take a deep breath and try to regain control of my feelings. How could I have lost them both? I know it is real . . . not some foolish dream that I will wake up from. I can never wake up from this.

**Flashback**

Water splashed on the window in front of me as I tried to steer the ship in the increasing storm. Everything that had happened in the past few hours seemed unbelievable, almost like something you would find in one of those action thriller movies. Somehow a crime lord had become our enemy and had chased us all over the country to get rid of us because of what we knew. Eventually the chase had led us out to the sea, where we were trying to return to shore to inform the police of what was going on. Unfortunately, it didn't appear as though that would be happening anytime soon. The weather and the clock were both against us, as we soon had the misfortune to find out.

"Marik! Give the wheel to me, brother!"

I looked up as Ishizu approached. "Sister, they're gaining on us!" I retorted. "I can steer perfectly fine!"

Without warning the yacht was thrown to the side, sending both my sister and me to the floor.

"The storm is becoming stronger." Ishizu sprang to her feet and seized the wheel.

"Ishizu!" I protested.

A loud thump came from another part of the ship and I ran to see what it was. I was alarmed to see Rishid fighting with two of the crime lord's hitmen. How had they gotten onboard!

As I watched, one of the demons raised his knife, ready to stab Rishid in the heart. I knew that Rishid would not be able to get away in time because he was distracted fighting with the other assassin.

"Rishid! Look out, Rishid!" I screamed, running forward to shove the manslayer aside.

Before I knew quite what was happening, the weapon was being aimed at me. This time I had no chance to move.

With a strangled cry Rishid yanked me to the floor in the next split-second. The blade caught him right in his back.

"RISHID!" I looked up as my older brother cried in agony and collapsed to the floor, his blood turning the tiles a deep red.

"Rishid?" I whispered, carefully pulling the knife out of his flesh. "Rishid . . . please say something!" I begged for several never-ending moments in vain.

"He's as good as dead. Just as you'll soon be!" The assassins turned to sneer at me.

Fire burned in my eyes. "I will personally see to it that none of you will ever harm another innocent person again," I vowed, speaking dangerously low. I wrapped my fingers tightly around the knife, raising it shakily.

"Do it then," one of them taunted. "Do it!"

I growled low, bringing the knife up to my eye level. Abruptly I sprang forward, knocking the hilt of the weapon against the hitman's head. With a grunt of surprise he collapsed to the floor.

Instantly the second one viciously charged at me, but I somersaulted out of the way and he went flying out of the open porthole with a yelp.

Before anyone could say or do more, a woman's scream rent through the air.

"Ishizu!" I leapt up just as the ship rocked again, continuing to clutch the knife and feeling torn. Ishizu needed my help . . . but so did Rishid. What could I do! How could I ever make such a decision!

"Master . . . go to her," Rishid gasped. "Please . . ."

I knew Ishizu wouldn't scream unless something was terribly wrong. And so I shakily turned away. "I will be back, my brother," I promised as I ran out the door.

That was the last thing I said to him.

* * *

When I burst back into the control room, I didn't expect to see Ishizu sprawled on the floor with our enemy bending over her and grinning maniacally. I knew that could only mean one thing.

"Leave her alone, you demon!" I lunged forward, grabbing onto his back and dragging him down to the floor. "If you ever lay one finger on my precious sister, you will learn the meaning of suffering."

He only laughed.

Torrents of the ocean shot in through the broken glass of the window, drenching all of us and beginning to fill the ship with water.

"The ship is sinking!" Ishizu yelled.

"And there's no time to get off," the crime lord growled, throwing me back and reaching for Ishizu again. "But at least maybe I can have a little fun before we all die."

Ishizu stood up stonily, her blue eyes narrowed. Just as she was moving out of the way, a wave of giant proportions rose up and tossed the yacht violently, burying it and all of its occupants in its aqueous depths.

Water filled my lungs as I tried to frantically reach for my sister.

"Be strong, brother," Ishizu whispered, holding onto me tightly before the ocean tore us apart forever.

The last thing I remember seeing was blood turning the water red.

* * *

I regained consciousness many hours later on the rocky shore. The yacht had also washed up—but there was no one in it. Blood stained the floors, walls, and even the ceiling—a grisly reminder of Rishid's and Ishizu's fate. I searched for my loved ones for days with the assistance of the Coast Guard . . . but I never found them.

**End Flashback**

I clutch the cloak and the scarf that is all I have left of my brother and sister. I had found their blood-stained belongings in the yacht many days before.

"Ishizu . . . Rishid . . . I'm so sorry . . . so very sorry. . . ." I hold the material close to my cheek, longing for some kind of comfort. "I wasn't able to save either of you. And I broke my promise to you, Rishid. . . ." I look up at the Heavens in despair. "I didn't come back for you. I . . . I wasn't able to. . . ." More tears fall as I stare at the blue depths of the Pacific Ocean. "After everything you and Ishizu have done for me, I should have been able to do something for you as well."

Slowly I rise again and take out two flowers I have had with me. I throw them into the water one at a time in memory of those I love.

"Goodbye," I whisper.

It's ridiculous, I know—thinking that you would always be here. Now in one day, I have lost you both.

Why was I spared instead of you? You were both more worthy to live than I am. I almost feel now as though I don't know how I can go on. But I will not let your sacrifices be in vain. Somehow I will continue living my life. I have to.

I can almost feel your arms around me, Ishizu. . . . I can almost hear your soft voice saying that you and Rishid will never truly leave me. And I can feel your presence as well, Rishid. . . . I pray that neither of you had to suffer painful deaths. . . .

More memories flood my mind . . . pleasant ones this time. I remember playing with Rishid and Ishizu when I was younger. . . . I remember listening to Ishizu's soft, musical voice as she enthralled me with stories of places and people I could only imagine about when we were locked up in our underground home. I remember that, even during my darkest hours, you both stayed by my side and loved me in spite of all that I did wrong. You always believed in me. You always knew that someday I would return to the light.

Night is coming on now. The air cools down immensely and I shiver from the cold, but I do not want to leave.

I find myself wrapping Rishid's cloak around my shoulders and pulling it close against me. "I wish I could turn back the hands of time," I whisper wistfully, staring up at the appearing stars as I lay down against a small tree. "I wish you could both be with me again. . . ." Angrily I close my eyes, hoping to stop the never-ending flow of tears, but still they fall. "I love you and miss you so much. . . ."

I shiver again and snuggle deeper into Rishid's cloak, still holding Ishizu's scarf. Now I am drifting off into oblivion. It feels rather nice, to be separated from reality . . .

But still reality creeps in. Even in this state of semi-awareness, I can feel the emptiness around me. I still know that Ishizu and Rishid are gone from this world.

Soft, gentle hands brush against my cheek and Ishizu's voice whispers for me to sleep. I will protect you, dear brother, she says. I will always be with you.

I relax, allowing her to hold me. Yes, oblivion is nice.

* * *

I awake to the sound of the ocean lapping against the waves once more. It seems to be the pre-dawn darkness, a normally peaceful time. I am still wrapped in Rishid's cloak and I feel that I am still being held. A voice sings softly in Egyptian . . . a song that only two people besides me know. . . .

Gently the woman the voice belongs to leans down and kisses my cheek.

My eyes fly open and I expect her to vanish upon my awakening, but she remains here, smiling and holding me close to her.

"Sister?" I whisper in disbelief. "But . . . but . . . this can't be . . ."

Ishizu softly places a finger over my lips and continues to smile. "It can and it is," she says, brushing my bangs aside.

"But . . . how?" I gaze up at her, still half-wondering if I am dreaming.

"I was washed up on a shore many miles away," she tells me. "I was disoriented at first and couldn't remember some things, but I knew I had to find you, dear brother."

I cling to her now, realizing that this is reality. "Oh Ishizu . . . I . . . I thought you were . . ." I feel her silky black hair brush against my face and I relax in her arms. It seems as though it's been so long since I have been enveloped in my sister's warm, loving embrace.

"Shhh. I know." Ishizu looks down at me sadly. "I saw the newspaper."

"Sister, is Rishid . . ." I trail off, unable to finish. She only said that she had been washed up onshore. What about our brother? Where is Rishid!

"I have not seen him," Ishizu replies solemnly.

I sob into her shoulder. "I . . . I told him I'd come back for him!" I wail. "I broke my promise . . ."

"Dear brother. . . ." Ishizu looks at me compassionately. "He knows you tried."

I hug her tightly, not wanting to ever let her go again. We are the only survivors of the shipwreck. Our enemies perished . . . but so has Rishid. I loved him so. . . . He was closer to me than any biological brother ever could have been.

"We will never forget him," Ishizu says quietly. "His memory will live on in our hearts and his spirit lives on in the Heavens."

I nod shakily. "But I still miss him, sister," I whisper.

"I know," Ishizu says tenderly. "I do as well."

A shadow falls across us both and we look up. In the early pre-dawn darkness I can make out Rishid's exhausted form. He is missing one of his earrings and his ponytail is tangled and damp. He gazes at Ishizu and me in somewhat of a stupor, as if he cannot believe we are here.

But the feeling is mutual.

"Rishid!" I cry out, throwing the cloak back and running into his arms. "Rishid! RISHID!" I bury my face in his chest, sobbing.

Rishid holds me close, his golden eyes soft and kind. "Master Marik . . . it's alright now. . . . It's alright. . . ."

Ishizu stands as well and comes over. "Rishid!" She smiles brightly and also embraces him.

I look up at them both, tears of joy in my eyes now. Somehow their lives have been preserved! They didn't perish in the shipwreck. Now my heart is full. I send prayers of thanksgiving up to the Heavens as I continue to hug those I love and have with me again.

"I love you both so much," I whisper. "So very much . . ."

They smile and pull me close, saying how much they love me as well.

And so we continue to remain there, holding each other close. We have no need for other words right now.


End file.
